Thursday, July 31, 2008

dagger brush


I've two paintings going now. One is of an orchid for the Florida show. The 2nd painting is of shoreline brush by the pond we often walk to. I'm finding I don't have the right brush for painting the twigs. Best would be a dagger brush that has a long point and is flattish. I've been using acrylic medium to get the paint to flow. I'm striving for graceful, tubular twig lines. A liner brush, which I also don't have, would make dark edging easier. I need a trip to the store or to loosen-up my application. If I put in 2 hours in the studio I consider it a good work day.

Monday, July 28, 2008

acrylic on paper

"Sofa Sketch" 30" x 32" acrylic on paper


This is the sofa painting on the wall in the last posting of my Massachusetts studio. the sofa, too. I've never made it into a large painting.

Massachusetts studio

This photo was taken while I was working on a project of fruit and vegetable paintings.

Friday, July 25, 2008

"Wood Ducks"

acrylic on canvas

38" x 42"









This is the last of the duck/bird series of paintings for now. Some paintings take longer for me to decide that they're finished. Paint supplies came today from http://www.utrecht.com/. I've used them for years. Watch out when buying cerulean not to get their "hue" but the "chromium".

Our grand daughter at camp in Maine called us from the top of Mt. Washington. I loved hiking the Presidential range at her age, too. Our other teenage grand daughter did a watercolor along with me yesterday. When we finished we ate the cherries in our still life.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"Parrots"




acrylic on canvas
Mergansers 46" x 50"
This painting was done in Florida. The new owners have pet parrots.





Saturday, July 19, 2008

"Black-Crowned Night-Heron"

I'm refining another painting done 2 summers ago. I've added rocks in the river, a hidden fish, and made the bird smaller. Still working on the wood ducks, too. This hot summer weather slows me down.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

"Mergansers"



acrylic on canvas

46" x 50"

Finishing touches to this painting from last summer went on this morning. Later today we head to Providence for their monthly Gallery Night. There's a new school/work space for artists called the Steel Yard. They do community outreach with a bike repair class, pottery, and metal welding.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

November show

http://www.meghancandlergallery.com/ To see a few more flower paintings go to this web page. It's where I'll be having the show in November.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

preliminaries

This is an example of acrylic on paper as I try to decide what to paint on my new canvas. My gallery in Florida wants me to paint flowers. They can sell them. I'm having a show there in November. I'm considering doing more big flower paintings but experimenting with landscape and still life first. Cropping with newspaper is an easy way to see different views of an image. Sometimes a preliminary on paper is worth saving.


Monday, July 14, 2008

acrylic on paper preparation

http://sanmiguelicons.com/ This is my sister-in-law's web page. I love her and her work.
Today I was thinking about my next canvas and what a corporation might like to hang in their office. I ended up doing acrylic on paper of shrubs by the pond we often walk to. We picked alot of wild blueberries and blackberries on our hike. Delicious. Still finishing-up a magnolia painting I'm working on. I always have several things going at the same time. It's helpful to switch around but over-whelming if I try to work on more than three at once.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

new stretched canvas

One of my favorite things is a newly stretched canvas ready to paint. As I finish-up some duck paintings I'll take the extra bits of paint and slather it on the new canvas. After a few days I'll have a good underpainting surface. Maybe then I'll also have figured-out what subject to paint next.

Friday, July 11, 2008

portraits of my grand daughters




The first instruction I got was from my mother on how to paint portraits. She had studied at NY's Art Student League. She'd have a friend pose for us and set-out the pastels. Dark green and alizarin for face shadows, dark background to contrast beside the light side of the face. Summer is our extended time with our grand daughters. They posed briefly for these portraits but then I had to work from photos I took. Oil paint would have been easier to work with. Acrylics dry darker so it's much harder to work back into a surface. These portraits were done awhile ago. The girls are teenagers now.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

paper first



This small acrylic on paper is 12" x 12". It was a preliminary for a large painting I did of teapots. Working most of a design out before going on canvas saves alot of energy and paint!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

"Red Rose"


acrylic on canvas
46" x 50"









Tonight is Corporate Night at the DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA. I've been in their loan program for years as well as included in the museum collection. This evening is special because our 16 year old grand daughter will be going to the event with us. "Red Rose" is one of my paintings in their program. The sprinkling head on a watering can is call a "rose". Watering cans have been a favorite subject matter for several paintings.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

"Storm Struck Pine"




"Storm Struck Pine" is a small acrylic 18" x 20"
"Massachusetts Studio" acrylic on canvas 46" x 50".
Summer of 2007 this was selected for a show at Audubon's Moose Hill center in Sharon, MA.
Today we delivered work to the Munson Gallery in Chatham, MA. Cape Cod. The yellow painting is of my studio here in Walpole. Our son has a smaller version of this painting done with a blue palette. It's now in Seattle hanging in a red room. You can partially see a study for the Great Blue Heron painting on the wall behind the easel.

Monday, July 7, 2008

"Buffleheads"






36" x 40" acrylic on canvas

The big size of the bufflehead ducks were fun to paint in 2005. Downsizing and adding two more ducks has made it a better painting.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

"Outdoor Goldfish Bowl"


Taking the indoor fishbowl outside in summertime made wonderful complicated designs.

22" x 18" acrylic

first post

In this blog I intend to show my techniques of working in a studio alone, a year's work. I change studios twice a year, North and South. I often start by revising paintings finished the year or two before. Looking at paintings after a time away allows for a fresh perspective.